


all roads lead somewhere

by mesoquatic



Category: Lizard Boy - Huertas
Genre: Andriod AU, Angst, M/M, On the Run, an angsty boy, andriod!trevor, its also, lol, roadtrip au, scientist!cary, wooooo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-04-19 19:42:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14244387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mesoquatic/pseuds/mesoquatic
Summary: Cary never thought he would end up escaping a lizard based government to save a lizard robot by hitchhiking.





	1. Chapter 1

_Zoom._

Another car was gone in the blink of an eye. They went fast enough to give Cary a small whip of cool air before returning to hell on Earth. Trevor was completely unconscious against him, leaving a trail with his dragging feet next to Cary’s shoes. Maybe it was Trevor, looking dead as ever and also not completely human, that no one wanted to pick up. Hell, no one wanted to pick up hitchhikers in the first place.

If anything, they needed a gas station or something. Cary has been dragging the other along for miles without a break. They had to get somewhere safe before anything could happen. They needed air conditioning and shade; either worked but both at the same time was highly favorable. Cary needed water-

_Spark._

Shit.

Now, two hitchhikers on the side of the road were interesting as it was. Two hitchhikers, one in a lab coat and the other sparking, looking like a lizard, and also looking completely dead? Yeah, he wouldn’t pick them up either. By the way things were going, their escape would be for nothing because Trevor was going to overheat. If they even got far, someone would get them and take them back and kill Cary for the attempt. They needed to hide.

No wonder why the desert was a great place to hide things that weren’t meant to be found. You couldn’t even get ten or fifteen miles away before someone would die from a hundred plus degree weather. Or scorpions. Or spiders. Or dehydration. Or murder. Or the nuclear apocalypse.

_Honk._

Cary didn’t stop. Any second now the car was going to just pass by or it would stop and the doors would open. If it was the second option, a gun would be pointed right to the back of his head and he’d get shot as they pried Trevor from his grasp. It’d be a great way to go but not glorious in any light. All of his work would be for nothing and he wouldn’t even be able to see his parents before he went. Hell, within days the government will go knocking on their door and ask them if they had seen Cary over a cup of tea. Something about stealing precious cargo probably.

“Are you gonna get inside or what?” Someone yelled, gaining Cary’s attention enough to turn around to make eye contact with a woman. She had stopped her car, one of those bigger vans, and gotten out. “You’re gonna die out here!”

Cary wished he knew how to pray properly at that moment as he rushed to get Trevor inside. He was scared that within a mile, they would get kicked out. They weren’t in position to do that. But, as he got in, he noticed the whole back was one of those workshop types with all of the shelves and materials. If she wouldn’t mind for a second, he could fix Trevor up.

“Where are the two of you going?” She asked, as the car started up again. The air conditioning was small but made a difference against the New Mexico sun. Were they in New Mexico? Arizona? Texas? He didn’t know at this point. He knew where the facility was and started off in a random direction once he got out.

“Wherever.” Cary finally responded. He glanced back again before he stared out at the road ahead. There was nothing to be seen for miles except for cacti and patches of dry salt flats; no signs or anything.

“Seattle it is.”

Cary kept a hold on Trevor until glancing back again. He bit his lip before gulping and looking to the blonde woman. She didn’t look off at all. Usually people who pick up hitchhikers looked off in some way and don’t even mention that she picked up a scientist and a lizard looking android.

“Can I use some of the stuff back there?”

“Are you going to give me your name first?”

“Cary.”

“What about your weird friend?”

“Trevor.” Cary stopped for a second before going into the back. “What about you?”

“Siren.”

“That doesn’t sound real.”

She chuckled. “You’re the one carrying some alien guy.”


	2. Chapter 2

A whole hour passed before a gas station was even spotted. Cary was convinced that anyone would have missed the town in a blink of an eye if they weren’t looking for the gas station. When Siren, or whatever her name really was, got out, Cary cringed. The air conditioning had clearly gone out when the engine stopped. Even outside, everything looked dead. There was not a cloud of an inch of water for miles. Hills or mountains were replaced with a flat desert.

It wasn’t so different from when they got out. It made Cary nervous. Were they still too close? What if this lady was a spy? He would have known who she was then, right? No, there’s never someone in the government that knows everyone. There’s always a backup plan if someone needs to be cleaned up. He should know that.

He should be more worried about Trevor. Cary looked down and fixed Trevor’s hair. The slight grease in it made him cringe. He could take off the plates to clean the thread but it would take forever to dry. If he had any money, he could just buy some synthetic hair. No, it’d be risky. He was on the run now.

“Say,” Siren spoke up as she closed the door to the driver’s seat, “Gary, yeah?”

“Cary.”

“Did your parents forget the little line in the G or something?” She chuckled. “Shaky hands while signing the birth certificate?”

“I’m pretty sure that would be an interesting story to tell if my parents did so.” Cary searched for the screwdriver he had put down just a few minutes ago. God, he needed to organize this place. “What do you even do? Construction?”

“Stage design. Sets and stuff. It’s kind of like construction.”

“What’s with the back, though?”

“I do it quick. Live out of this place and hotels. What’s with all the questions?” She glanced back before moving onto the deserted road. Cary only glanced out to see a woman staring at them from her house window. They were obviously unwanted. “I should be asking you the questions.”

Cary didn’t respond. He could feel her short lived glare as he finally found the screwdriver. If he could fix this wire, Trevor’s arm would stop sparking. Him being completely not on? That’s a completely different problem.

“Where’d you two come from?” Siren asked after a minute. “I found you in Arizona.”

“Sounds about right.” He whispered.

“Do you live there?”

“Sort of.”

“What do you mean?” Siren merged back onto the highway to head north. She glanced back at the two of them. “Are you one of those ‘free citizens?’”

“No. I’m a govern-” he paused, “Used to be a government employee. That’s all you need to know.”

“So Terminator was a true movie? Wonderful.” She chuckled more.

Cary wasn’t sure whether or not he should get familiar with that sound. He’s already heard it so much that it must be worth something. To who or how much? He didn’t know the answer to that. Frankly, he didn’t know anything at this point.

“Do you have any family?”

“I was an only child.”

She was silent for a few seconds before speaking up again. “What about your wife?”

“My what?” Cary looked up from the panel he was working on to raise his eyebrow at Siren. She just continued to drive like it was nothing.

“You have a ring on your ring finger.”

Cary sighed. Darn was she observant. He looked down to the panel he was holding and then at Trevor’s face. He took a deep breath, looking back to the panel.

“She’s not around.”

“What do you mean?”

Cary refused to respond. He carefully put the panel back on Trevor’s chest before starting to tighten the screws. Siren turned up the radio, letting it blast the rock songs from the eighties that either sounded the same or were about the same thing. If anything, it would be a blessing to hear Piano Man or something different. Maybe his prayer would grant a different landscape, too.

He sat back and stared at Trevor. He waited for a second and then two. He had shrunk back down by the time ten seconds passed. Nothing. Slowly turning Trevor over, he reached for the screwdriver again. As much time he had spent working with him, he never knew about any on or off switches. It was worth trying to find, though.

“Why don’t you work for the government anymore?”

“I can’t tell you.”

 

“You don’t work for them anymore so what’s the point?”

He sighed, knowing he shouldn’t be saying what he was going to say. He did it anyway. “I’m holding the reason.”

“So you built a robot shell and pissed someone off?” Siren raised an eyebrow.

“I stole him.” He deadpanned as he started to unscrew the panel on Trevor’s back. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we were on the FBI’s Most Wanted List already.”

“So you two are criminals?” She had started to slow down, sending red flags all throughout Cary’s mind.

“Yes.”

Then there was complete silence except for the radio. The car slowly stopped and Cary didn’t move an inch from working. He only looked up when he realized she had gotten pulled over and didn’t do so willingly. The colors of a police car behind them made him cringe.

Then, “Pull the curtains and stay silent.”

Cary followed directions and covered the back with the curtains. He held his breath as she rolled down her window. He even had the habit to cover Trevor’s mouth too.

“What seems to be the problem?” Siren asked with a smile.

“Nothing to do with your car, miss. We’re just making rounds because of an investigation. You’re the only one to come in from the south.”

Shit. Shit. _Shit._

“I’ve just been heading home to Seattle from my trip to Mexico.”

He pulled something out of his pocket. “Have you seen this man? Cary Branson?”

“No, sir, I have not.”

A few seconds passed by and every single one made Cary more nervous. He gulped and looked down at Trevor, hoping they’d get out of the situation. He couldn’t risk it more than he already had-

“Okay.” Cary bit his lip, still tense, “But, if you do, do not hesitate to call the police. He’s done some very bad things and needs to be arrested. Alright?”

“Alright.”

The officer waited a few seconds before waving and leaving. He got into his car and drove away within a few minutes. The car didn’t start until he was off and back into town. Siren glanced back at the curtains.

“Keep them closed unless you need to get out.” She instructed strictly.

Cary let his breath out and held onto Trevor tighter. “Why are you helping us?”

Silence and then a short chuckle. “It’s more interesting than my job.”

“Helping criminals isn’t safe.”

“Who said you were bad? Clearly the government is way worse.” She chuckled more as she drove. “Guess we aren’t going to Seattle. You’re little friend there would die if he can’t get wet.”

Cary opened his mouth to say more but he stopped. He shouldn’t push the envelope when he was already being taken care of for free. She was already going out of her way to help them and he wasn’t sure if she knew that she would be considered a criminal too soon enough.

And, in kindergarten, he said he wanted to be an astronaut, not on the FBI’s Most Wanted. If only his teacher could see him now. She would have never seen it coming. None of his teachers would have. He had the reputation to prevent that. At least until they knew he did it through science, then they would understand.


	3. Chapter 3

After a day, Cary had broken down. He hadn’t had food for hours or any water. The heat had died down as they eventually got into Oregon, though still pretty hot. At least it wasn’t noticeable. The plants were no longer dead and he could actually see trees.

Now, if you should ask about Trevor? He’d immediately start working again even if he had stopped for only a second. Trevor was still a work in progress. If anything, it would be a miracle if he even got Trevor to work again. That would make it all for nothing. If so, he might as well turn himself in.

Trevor wouldn’t have wanted that, though. Even if he didn’t have a voice, he could still write and Cary could always burn the pages if he was sneaky enough about it. That’s what he did for a long time. It never got him in trouble except for the last set. It was only three or four days ago now, but it felt like it was years ago. That and also like it just happened a second ago.

_Cary slowly entered the test room, cringing as he always did. He hated it. They made it seem like a normal home for a robot only for it to sit in the middle of a facility. It was identical to the nine others except for the fact that the occupant was well alive and moving. In all of the others, the androids were only shells now harvested for parts._

_“Trevor?” He called out, making sure the door was closed completely. He took a deep breath when he heard the lock switched from the outside. He was stuck inside now._

_He only waited a few seconds before starting to walk around. The walls were a nice salmon color with a nice yellow trim. It was a weird color combination that was supposed to promote well being inside. It didn’t help a single bit. Though, most of the walls were covered with papers, drawings and scribbles of words alike. Give a monkey a typewriter and he’ll eventually write Shakespeare. The government’s version? Give a robot a pencil and paper and eventually he’ll write enemy secrets._

_“Trevor?” Cary called again as he entered the kitchen. Nothing. There was only the living room left._

_From where he was, he could see the television playing the history documentaries. It was sinister, truly. The government that created the atomic bomb is now paranoid that one would bomb their own country. They were so terrified that they needed robot people to infiltrate and figure out the secrets of the enemy._

_An android with part of its face missing, though it was barely skin looking and more lizard-esque, was staring at the television with a pad of paper in his lap. There was a pencil in his hand. Cary knocked on the arch once and smiled at the other who dropped the stuff to run over. Cary embraced him in a hug._

_“Missed me, huh?” Cary chuckled and let Trevor drag him over to the couch to get the paper. As expressive and secret as this project was, they didn’t want to give the subjects the ability to talk. It was truly another sinister move by a sinister government of sinister lizards._

_Cary sat down next to Trevor as he started to write out something. He also always thought it best not to read it as Trevor wrote. Instead, he looked around at the walls. Unlike the other rooms where the papers were scattered, you could not see an inch of the wall behind all of the papers. Layers covered others of different things; atomic bombs, government leaders, random places. Some of it was just random scribbling._

_Trevor pushed his side and held up his pad._

_‘You’re still wearing the ring,’ it read, ‘I thought you said you were going to take it off.’_

_Cary smiled and put the pad down to signal that he had read it._

_“I have hope that she’ll come back.” He whispered. Trevor went back to writing. Before long, he had a response._

_‘She can’t come back if she’s dead.’_

_Cary frowned and shrugged. When Trevor went to write again, Cary looked around to try and find the missing plate from Trevor’s face. He eventually found it stuffed under one of the pillows next to him. He frowned back at Trevor right as he stuffed a paper back in Cary’s face._

_‘I’m sorry ab-’ was crossed out. Under it was ‘It fell off and I swear I didn’t mean it to!” Cary started to chuckle halfway through._

_“It’s fine. You don’t have to be so worried over it.” Trevor nodded slowly and watched Cary as he fumbled with the piece. “I should put it back on.” He mumbled and raised it back to Trevor’s face. He kept still for Cary as he worked._

_Once it was on, Trevor wrote out a quick ‘Thank you.’_

_Cary didn’t say anymore and instead watched the documentary. It was quiet enough where you could barely hear it. Trevor’s leg carefully bounced next to him for a good five minutes before he said anything to the android._

_“You doing okay?”_

_Trevor immediately started to write on his pad. Cary smiled as he watched. Once Trevor showed him the page, his smile dropped._

_‘I want to leave this place.’_

By four in the afternoon, they were parked in a camping ground for the night. It wasn’t late, clearly, and they could have drove the rest of the way to Seattle. But, both Cary and Siren decided they needed fresh air. That and a camping ground was much safer than a hotel even if they weren’t connected to Siren and her car yet.

And, as much as he despised the idea, he left with Siren to walk into town. He had removed his lap coat and attempted to look as casual as possible. Siren had offered to buy his new clothes if they could find some. If leaving Trevor alone for just an hour meant he was harder to identify, he was reluctantly willing to take the risk. It would be beneficial in the long run.

They were lucky to even have found the local Goodwill in town. It was too small to have anything of interest except that and this small computer repair place next door. He might have to visit before they left in the morning for parts. Anything would help at this point.

“Have you ever worn warmer colors? You might look good in them.” Siren mentioned softly as Cary was looking outside. He glanced back to the racks she was searching for before taking over.

“I can shop for myself.”

“Oh, a no thank you for helping. _You’re welcome._ ” She crossed her arms and started to wander to the women’s section. “Just holler when you find something.”

Cary muttered a soft ‘okay’ as he kept looking around. He could only find one outfit seeing as mostly all of the things he liked were ruined in some way. That or the fact that not everything had the right size tag on it. God, no wonder no one he knew shopped here. Maybe it was also the fact that most of them made so much money in a year.

He found Siren and they checked out fairly quickly. It wasn’t good to stay too long in the first place. He still wanted to visit the computer place. And so he did. He went in, leaving Siren to stop and stare at him with a weird look before following him in.

“What are you coming in for? We have to go back.” She said in a hushed tone as she grabbed Cary’s shoulder. He only brushed her off and looked over all of the wires.

“I’m looking.” He muttered back quietly. There wasn’t much but it was better than the nothing he has been working with since they got out.

Siren sighed and stayed close to him. She eyed the single employee that was there to make sure he didn’t come over as Cary browsed. The second he touched a wire, though, he mumbled out a price before yawning. He rested his head down and looked at them with half lidded eyes.

By the time that Cary found the things he needed and turned around, the employee was asleep. He walked up and knocked on the desk lightly. Nothing, the other was out like a light. He sighed before looking around for a camera.

“What are you doing n-” Siren stopped when Cary started to walk towards the walls.

“Fuck it.” He muttered as he started to take everything off the wall. Siren’s eyes went wide.

“Y-I-You-I can’t believe you!” 

“You’re living it. Believe it.” He muttered again as he finished with the first rack. “I’m already on the run. Stealing isn’t a problem.”

“Yes, it is.”

“It’s ten for a single wire and I need more than just a single wire. I don’t want to break your bank or mine-”

“Then don’t steal everything-”

“ _Too bad._ ”

Siren gawked at him. “You can’t be serious.” She said, making sure to keeping her voice low.

“I am. I need them to keep Trevor alive.”

“He’s a robot. Doesn’t he have an on switch or something?”

“It’s broken.”

“Why are you so hung up about this?”

“Do you think I escaped a government facility with him to go on the run if I didn’t fucking care?” Cary snapped, turning to glare at her. “He’s the only thing I have _left._ ”

“Did you make him or something?”

Cary only frowned as he went back to the rack he was working on. “I basically raised him. He only wanted to talk to me out of anybody there.”

“Why?”

“Why the hell should I know?”

“You care about him so much.”

“Hell to that.”

“So you don’t?” She asked softly. “You don’t care about him.”

Cary paused, his dominant hand raised. The wedding ring was still on his finger. “I do. I care about him.” He whispered, much calmer than he was the last time he spoke.

“Did your wife care about him?” She was quieter. “Did she build him? Create him? Whatever it’s called?”

Cary grit his teeth, clearly uncomfortable with the question. She took a deep breath before whispered a soft apology. A few seconds passed. Then a few more. Then, she joined in gathering the stuff off the rack. Cary had already gone back to it but stopped once more at the sight.

“What are-”

“What was she like? Your wife?” She stayed quiet as she asked. She stopped only for a second to make sure the employee was still asleep. Cary went back to work.

“He-” he stopped himself and took a deep breath before starting again. “ _She-_ ”

“If you lied about having a wife because you think I would judge you for it, you’re wrong.” Siren interrupted.

Cary finished up with the last of the stuff and stuffed it into the Goodwill bag and into his own pockets. Siren did the same. He looked back at her with tired eyes.

“ _She,_ ” he emphasized, “Was a great person and deserved better than what she got out of life.”

She looked up at him and frowned. “Late?” Cary nodded. “God, the more I learn about you, the more I learn that life dealt you a shit set of cards.”

Cary snorted as they exited. No sensor, odd. Small town didn’t expect robberies.

“You have no idea.” He muttered.

He stopped at the street corner and looked around for a sign to the camp grounds. When he didn’t spot one, Siren grabbed him by the arm and started to drag him along as she marched down a road. It got more deserted as they went.

“It’s this way.” She explained. “That or my directional skills are shit.”

“Good to know we’re good enough friends to curse around each other.”

“I’ll curse in front of anyone who I’m not dealing business with, man.”

Cary snorted and looked around. “Do you think we’ll be able to make a campfire tonight?”

“And what? Toast up some s’mores while we’re at it?” Siren chuckled, finally letting go of his arm. The sun had set and it was starting to drizzle. “You’ll get nothing more than wet wood with the rain. I bet it’ll get worse the later it gets.”

“The noise will help.” Cary added. “It’s better than the desert. Pure silence is frightening to me.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Never liked it as a kid, either.”

They continued to walk straight into the camp. The security officer gave them a weird look but didn’t stop them at all. The other campers who were still out also gave them weird looks, giving Cary the chills. It was just like the town back in Arizona. He wasn’t sure that he could sleep knowing that was a possibility. It could happen again for all he knew.

Inside of the car, it was still as dull as ever. Trevor was still there, thankfully but not surprising. You couldn’t see him if you looked into the car from the outside. Even so, he was thankful that nothing did see. They were as safe as they could be.

As Cary worked into the night, Siren sat back in the driver’s seat. After some time, she turned down the stereo and spoke up.

“Say, if the government made an Terminator, why make him look like a lizard?”

Cary chuckled. “They’re full of themselves.”

 

“Oh! So not only is the government making robots, they’re also lizards?”

“It’s been like that since the 60s.”

“What about Obama? He was actually good.”

“You have to give some hope to the country before making Trump in charge.”

Siren laughed at that, smiling as she looked back at Cary. He was also smiling.

“Make a lot of improvements then step back a few steps only to do it again?”

“Exactly.”

Cary kept his smile as he put his pliers down. He wiped at his forehead before putting the metal plate over the wires once more. Rolling over Trevor, he stared over his face for seconds before rolling Trevor back over. He unscrewed the plate on the back of Trevor’s neck and fixed a few more things. Once finished, he flicked up a switch and waited.

Siren sat up a bit and kept watching with him. Seconds passed, a minute, two, and still nothing happened. Cary slunk down and slowly put the plate back on. Siren smiled at him but stopped once she saw how deep his frown had gone. She looked back at the steering wheel and let her seat fall back more.

“You should get some sleep soon. You can’t do anything if you’re too tired to focus.” She muttered.

Cary sighed and nodded to himself before moving to be able to sleep on the floor. He couldn’t help but feel like he was failing. Not only was he failing himself but Trevor, too. Trevor was the one who wanted to go away. He couldn’t see the world Cary promised him if he was dead.

He closed his eyes and sighed. Siren was right, he couldn’t do much if he was tired. If anything, he would only make the situation worse. Sleep would help and by morning, he’d be able to start working again as Siren drove north. They’d get to Seattle tomorrow. What they were going to do there, he had no idea. Surely, she’d drop them off and abandon them somewhere. Or, maybe, she wouldn’t. Maybe she’d stay around and make sure they get well off and hidden from all of the eyes and ears of the government.

Cary’s thoughts drifted him into sleep. He definitely missed the bed he had two days before. Two days of sleeping on the floor of a van did nothing but horrors to his back. He felt like an old man. He’s already found a grey hair or two on his head, most likely from stress more so than old age.

But, one fact was certain. When he opened his eyes, someone was staring back at him and it wasn’t Siren.

“TrevOr?”


	4. Chapter 4

Now, when something is strange in your neighborhood, you call the ghostbusters. Was there a ghostbusters for this van? Probably not. Was Cary still dreaming? Not at all. Was Trevor alive and staring down at him? Absolutely certain. God, his head was an Magic Eight Ball.

He slowly sat up and cupped Trevor’s face. “Y-You’re aliVe-” his voice cracked as he whispered.

Trevor only nodded before looking around. He looked terrified.

“Hey,” Cary made the other look back at him. “It’s fine. We’re fine. I-I can get paper for you but we’re a-as safe as we cAn be.”

Trevor looked him straight in the eyes. Cary was sure that he would be crying if he was physically capable to. In the end, Cary was the only one crying.

“W-W-I got us out.” He stumbled out through his tears. “I got us out and we’re nOwhere n-near that place anymOre.”

It took Trevor a few moments before he realized what Cary meant. He opened his mouth but no sound came out. It was normal but still made Cary frown everytime.

“A-And I’ll figUre out the voice thing. Y-You won’t need the pencil o-or the paper pad.”

Trevor slowly nodded as Cary chuckled. The chuckle turned into a soft giggle, one as if he was drunk, as he pulled Trevor into a hug and sobbed against his shoulders. He was drunk, in a sense, just drunk on happiness. His tears weren’t bad, they were good. They weren’t enough to damage Trevor in the slightest.

“I missed you.” Cary whispered against Trevor’s shoulder. He felt Trevor’s arm move and ignored it. Soon enough, it was placed on Cary’s back. “I missed you. I missed you. I missed you. I _missed_ you.”

“Cary…?”

Cary’s head shot up to look at Siren who looked back with wide eyes. Her jaw dropped when she saw Trevor move.

“Shit-Oh! Oh, my God, you weren’t crazy this whole time!”

“Did yOu think I was?” He gulped. “ReAlly?”

“I picked you up in the middle of the desert, of course I thought you were a bit crazy! A-And you stole a bunch of stuff-” she stopped when she saw Trevor immediately turn and glare at Cary. He raised his hands to his chest in response.

“I-If I didn’t, you wouldn’t be awake right now. I did it for yOu like I’ve done everything else.” He was still crying, making Trevor’s look soften. “It’s fine.”

There were a few seconds a silence before Siren said something again.

“For someone who's a robot, you sure move like you aren’t built of gears and wires and circuit boards.” 

Cary chuckled softly and Trevor smiled. Despite being artificially made, Trevor still found pride in how close he was. The lizard skin was the only problem he had. Cary remembers a time before the skin was put on the robots. There was no way to tell them apart because of the creepy shells they were. Everyone had refused to work with them unless they had the fake skin.

Eventually, Cary got up, searching for a pen and pad or anything for Trevor to use. Nothing. He sighed and sat back down. “We should be heading out soon.”

“Right. I’m sure someone is going to eventually come by about the robbery.” Siren whispered and adjusted the back of her seat back up. “Close the curtain, we might as well head out now.”

Cary did so and turned to Trevor. “You have to stay behind the curtain, yeah? We could get killed if either of us is found.”

Trevor nodded, small clicks and machinery making noise as he did. Cary quickly moved to grab a screwdriver to find whatever was wrong in the system but Trevor grabbed his shoulder. Cary slowly put the tool back. They looked at each other in mutual understanding.

“Next stop, not Seattle!”

Cary froze before sticking his head out from behind the curtain. “What do you mean? I thought we were-”

“I’m not going to take you somewhere where it rains until it’s safe for your friend.”

“We’re on the run, we’ll never be safe. If you get caught, you’ll be on-”

“I don’t care. Besides, it’s fun.” She chuckled as she started the car and reversed out of the space they had parked in. The gravel under the car made the tools shake. Trevor cringed and Cary covered his ears.

“It’s fine.” He whispered and pulled Trevor close. “We’ll be fine. We’ll be fine. We’ll be okay.” He repeated the words over and over as if he was also convincing himself of the fact. Trevor lifted up his hand to keep the curtain closed.

Within the hour, and after getting gas, they were out to one of the passes crossing the Cascade Mountains. Trevor eventually let Cary start to work again but stopped him every so often to look over him. He couldn’t get over how dark the bags under Cary’s eyes had become from the long nights of problem after problem. 

Something Trevor never accounted for was the idea that Cary kept coming back to: building a set of working vocal cords for him. It seemed impossible even after Cary took the panel off his chest and explained where it would be. As impossible as it sounded to him, Cary was set on it, and he went on with it. The other thing, that concerned him more than anything, was how set Cary was on trying to replicate the exact way the voice should sound despite Trevor having never had a voice before. Hell, he hadn’t even built the damn thing yet.

By the time dusk had fallen and they were somewhere out in the middle of nowhere yet again, Cary at least had somewhat of a prototype. He wasn’t a machine, he was human. He wasn’t perfect like something in a factory that made a single piece over and over, he was human and he made mistakes just like Trevor did. But, was Trevor really considered to be human or a machine?

They camped out in the middle of the desert, far from the road. Siren started a fire as best as she could with wood stored in the back. Once she knew it was safe, she gave the signal to the other two. Cary got out through the back door and helped Trevor out. He smiled as Trevor cautiously put his foot down into the dry sand. He grinned.

“Does it feel nice?” Cary asked, moving to take off his own shoes. He waited for the approval from Trevor which came in a short nod. He moved his feet around, grinning so much that Cary would have expected a giggle if it was possible.

“We have nothing for dinner but I think we can stop by some fast food place in the next town we go into.” She was looking on a map. “I know the road we came off of but hell if I know where we are on it.”

“That’s fine.” Cary glanced over at her. “Lunch was good enough to keep me over until then.” He looked back at Trevor and slipped off his shoes. He got up and watched the other. “You can stand up.”

Trevor held onto Cary’s arm as he got up. His legs shook just slightly before they calmed and Trevor took a step forward. The grin was still on his face.

“Not as cold, yeah?”

Trevor nodded and dug his toes into the sand. He brought it up quickly, causing the sand to fly with his foot. He stepped back enough to make Cary chuckle.

“It’s not going to hurt you.” Cary said softly and held onto Trevor’s arm. “Even if it does, I’ll fight it.”

Siren snorted from behind the map. “Such a gentleman.” Cary ignored her as he helped Trevor take a few steps forward.

Trevor had his eyes stuck on the sight of the fire. Cary chuckled.

“That’s the only thing here you don’t want to touch.” He helped Trevor over but stopped him before he got too close. “Remember heat, yeah? This produces it.”

Siren chuckled. Trevor nodded.

“It’ll burn you if you get too close.” Cary explained and held his hand to be near it. Trevor pulled him away causing Cary to laugh. “It’s fine. I was just trying to warm myself up. It’s good, there’s just a risk of being burnt.”

“You’re treating him like he’s your baby.” Siren noted, gaining a glare from Cary. “And he’s also treating you like you’re his baby.” That got a glare from Trevor. “It’s cute.”

Cary huffed and pulled away from the fire.

“So?”

“It’s _cute_. You heard me.” She went back to her map. Trevor watched the flames in awe. “If he wasn’t a robot, I would see you two together.”

Cary frowned softly and looked away as he rubbed his neck. “Sure…?”

“So you see it too?”

“Not at all.”

“What about you, Terminator?”

“His name is Trevor.” Cary corrected. Trevor shook his head. “See, he doesn’t see it either. It’s just you.”

“I just said it would be cute.”

Cary crossed his arms. “Do you even have anyone?”

“A boyfriend? No.”

“Maybe that’s why? You’re _lonely._ ” Cary leaned against the van. “Can’t help a lonely heart. That and maybe that’s why you’ve abandoned your life for us. I’m still not sure why that was.”

“Cary, you should know how it feels to be finally free of responsibility and not have to worry about working or anything.” She put the map down. “You’re doing that right now. I admire it.”

“I’m a criminal. That’s only made me worry more.” Trevor frowned and Cary grabbed his shoulder. “Did I do the right thing? Yes. Would I do it again? In every single lifetime I live. Is it stressful? Yes.” 

“But-”

“I would _never_ not do that, you hear me?” He spat. “I’ve never regretted anything.”

“You’re human just as much as I am. There have to be some things in your life that you regret.” She explained and stared up at the sky. Trevor looked up after her before Cary joined.

The sky was as clear as day with twinkling stars still bright from millions of miles away. Just like dreams, they could be gone in an instant and you wouldn’t know for years. Thousands of people have looked up at the same star and have never known. Constellations were formed by chance just like everything else; civilization, robots, cars, and even the clothes Cary wore. Someone just woke up one day and tied two pieces of fabric together or looked up at the sky and picked out a shape.

In that moment, in that silence, it wasn’t just about Cary anymore. His actions defined him but some things had to be left behind. He had no chance to go home anymore. His parents would have been told by now about how he was a criminal. His mother would weep and his father would grit his teeth as he thought about where his parenting went wrong, whether it was teaching him how to bunt too early or pushing him to be the brightest in his class.

Cary couldn’t even go home to his apartment, long searched and quarantined by now. His endless collection of polaroids with him and his fiance, at the time they were taken, would be burned to dust and ash. His neighbors would rat him out for every single thing they thought he did wrong while he was around.

Not only that but, like a star’s position in the sky, he was an always changing man. His scruff was just long enough to be considered a short beard and his stance had long since changed. These thoughts were the same as before but were no longer light hearted and witty, now they were the solemn truths he finally had to deal with.

Even in the end, though, some things never changed; memories and promises, even if long forgotten in the past. And with even that, grown men still cried.


	5. Chapter 5

Within the next three days, they were still stuck somewhere in the desert of the midwest. Sadly enough, Siren had long ago lost any maps or charge on her phone that lead her anywhere sensible. Nights were spent on the cracky sand away from any roads that would lead their position away. But, even with being as hidden as they could be without being in a bunker, Cary was constantly on edge and paranoid that he’d wake up and Trevor would be gone.

Eventually, though, Cary was able to make something that resembled a set of vocal chords. Once in Trevor, who opted to be off during it because it seemed too much like a surgery, he kept tweaking the voice.

“Why are,” Trevor’s voice changed with every word, “You so obsessed with getting it a certain way? I think it sounds fine.”

Cary shook his head. “None of these are right.”

“But-”

“None of them are.” Cary insisted and kept working.

Siren was camped outside of the van, roasting marshmallows they had bought from a random mini-mart on the side of the road while getting gas. It was more than nothing, at least. Trevor couldn’t eat but insisted that the two of them got something better than fast food. Cary swears giving him a pen and pad was worth it.

“Do you have a reference?” Trevor asked, closing his eyes to avoid looking down at what Cary was doing. “That I can listen to, you know? I could help.”

Cary didn’t say anything.

“Cary?”

Nothing.

“Are you okay?”

Cary had pulled away from Trevor. He wiped his eyes and grinned.

“It’s perfect.”

Cary quickly closed up the panel covering Trevor’s throat and cupped his cheeks. Trevor watched him with questioning eyes. He slowly reached up to wipe the tears from Cary’s face. It was something he didn’t understand but knew it was something Cary needed. Somewhere in the back of his mind, there was the reason for all of this, but it was hidden under lock and key.

“Are you okay?” Trevor slowly asked, still struggling to make out words. The shapes were foreign to his mouth.

Cary only nodded and pulled him into a hug. Trevor put his hand on Cary’s back and looked down at Cary as he sobbed on his shoulder. Siren came in and held out a s’more. Trevor simply shook his head and motioned down to the other. She went back to the fire. Food could wait just a few moments until Cary was ready.

When he was ready, they went out together. Cary helped Trevor out of the car and to sit down on the hard sand; the closest thing to a salt flat that Cary has ever seen. The fire roared in front of the three of them and reflected in their eyes. Cary started to roast his own marshmallow before Trevor panicked, making sure that they were all far enough from the fire to prevent being burned.

Before bed, Trevor and Cary took a short walk around the area. It was no hike or scenic walk, only the same thing for miles ahead of them; uneventful. Soon, they would be out of the desert and to the east coast. Neither of them had any idea where they were going to go yet but it was somewhere far from where they were now.

In the morning, they were already on the road by the time Cary woke up. Nothing was to be heard from Siren or Trevor, but the radio was blasting as well as the air conditioning. Wires and tools rumbled about like the ground the car drove on was loose gravel. If anything, the road conditions were worse now with the added sand on top of it. Nothing was to be seen off into the distance except the waves in the air from the heat. Outside, it was hell on earth.

Trevor was quick to smile at Cary once they made eye contact. Sadly, but not new, he hid under one of the workbenches tightly and with no room to spare. Cary slid over and pulled him into a short lived hug before he wiped at the scruff that had grown on his face and then glanced out of the window. Tumbleweeds tumbled across the sand without anything to run up against the ocasional cactus. Not even an inch of civilization rested out on the horizon.

Eventually, they stopped in town long enough for Cary and Siren, who paid, to eat a meal at the local diner. Burgers weren’t the healthiest but they were something that gave them enough energy to survive the day. Nothing was said as they ate and tried to stay as least suspicious as they could.

Cary then took a risk. He needed the money and there was an ATM in town. They could be quick, in and out before someone really noticed. Of course, the government would have access to his bank records by now and would notice. God, it wasn’t necessary. It wasn’t but it seemed to be; irrational and unhelpful. If anything, he should leave it to die. There is also the possibility that it was locked. No, they’d want to find him. Taking it out all at once would be better than slowly over time. They could track his movement that way.

God, he was an idiot. His parents would not be proud of him if the criminal aspect didn’t scare them off yet.

He made sure he was well away from where the van was when he did it, at least. He needed to keep Siren and her car off the radar as long as he could. The longer it was, the safer Trevor and him would be for a while. Sadly enough, if they didn’t find a way out of the country now, they would be trapped until they’re found and murdered. Where would they even go?

Something that Cary did not account for was the lack of necessary funds in the ATM to remove all of his money at once. The best he could do was nine hundred and eighty and even that took some time. This was what he was afraid of; little amounts over time. He had to be sneaky. Rushing back to the van with a jacket full of cash and try not to be so obvious while doing it was a lot harder than it looked. If anything, he was just being an idiot, and, of course, Siren and Trevor both had to remind him about it.

“What were you thinking?” Siren muttered as they got on the road. “They could find you!”

“We needed it!”

“You just risked _everything_ for a little bit of cash!”

Trevor grabbed Cary’s shoulder.

“I don’t think it was a good idea. The same with robbing the one store. They weren’t good ideas.” Trevor explained.

Of course, Cary knew he was right in the end. Unlike Cary, Trevor worked on probability and able to figure out them in an instant. Ones and zeros ran rampant where they shouldn’t be. A computer didn’t deserve to be alive like Trevor was.

In the end, the ATM did come back to haunt them. Well after sundown, when Siren had set up the nightly fire and the three of them were roasting s’mores, something did come for them. Suddenly and with no warning, trucks started to swarm the area. Cary rushed Trevor inside. Cary locked the doors. Siren got up and raised her hands up. She should have run for the driver's seat. She knew that.

It was too late. People exited the vans and slowly surrounded the van, guns raised.


	6. Chapter 6

Siren gulped and stayed where she was. She glanced around at the men. She bit her lip. With every second, she suspected a gun to the back of her head and the sound of a gunshot so fast that she wouldn’t even be able to process it before she was dead. She grew tense the longer time went on, like she would be suddenly bulletproof.

The back door of the van was thrown open. Trevor and Cary were forced out and on the ground next to her. She, then, was forced down; not as hard but still as held down. Someone came out of the car and Cary immediately fought against the hold on him.

“Cary! It’s so nice to see you!” The man smiled and held out his hands. “I haven’t seen you in a while!”

“Fuck off!” Cary immediately sneered.

“Now, now, that’s not a way to greet someone.”

Trevor frowned and shook against the grasp as the man got closer.

“Oh, he got you working! No wonder since he’s so good at his job.”

Once he got too close for comfort, Cary immediately started to fight more to get the man away from Trevor. The man barely backed up, but chuckled as he went.

“Well, that’s not friendly either. And to think we were once coworkers.” He smiled as he leaned down to face Cary one on one. The unnamed man grinned as Cary glared. “You stole it from me.”

“He’s more than an it and you know it.” Cary growled.

“I owned it.”

“That’s slavery!”

“It’s a robot.”

The unnamed man huffed and turned to look at Trevor. He squirmed as the other got closer. Cary immediately attempted to get his attention again.

“Leave him alone!”

“You stole it from me!” The unnamed man turned to snap at Cary. “It was mine!”

“He was mine first!”

“You just looked over it!”

“He asked for this!”

Cary immediately regretted that. Trevor looked as if he paled, though his skin not changing hue. The unnamed man turned to look at Trevor again with intrigued eyes.

“Tell me, is this true?”

Trevor gulped before answering.

“Yes.”

The unnamed man was clearly taken aback after hearing Trevor speak. He turned to look at Cary again.

“You have so much potential and you come and waste it on making your little doll be able to talk? It doesn’t deserve that.”

“He’s more than a doll.”

“That’s right, it’s a spy.”

“He’s my husband!” Cary lashed out and screamed. Siren looked over with wide eyes, suddenly piecing things together. Trevor looked confused. The unnamed man only laughed.

“And why doesn’t it know that, huh? Or is that a lie?”

“You murdered him in cold blood and put his brain into a robot. You made me _watch!_ ”

“No wonder it sounds the same as your late husband did. Did you do that to torture yourself?”

“He’s not an it!”

“Oh, we’ve been over this. It’s not worth anything.”

Cary fought against the grip of the soldier behind him to get to the unnamed man. He snarled right in his face as he leaned down to look back. He was unaffected.

“All you’re going to do with him is trap him up and let him rot!”

“But, we’ll have the information we need. You know that.”

“What about the hundreds of others? Huh?”

“We both know that they’re dead. You took away the only one still alive.”

“Let us go.”

“You’ve committed treason against the government. You think I’m going to let you go?”

“You’re all lying to the public anyway!”

“They’re stupid enough to think the people who know the truth are just crazy. When they’re planet is completely dead, they’ll come running to us to take them with us as he leave to go back home but they’ll find nothing but hatred.”

“If you hate us so much, why don’t you just kill us already? How about me? I bet you’ve gotten sick of my voice by now.”

“We tried. Hitler got murdered.”

The unnamed man frowned before turning to look at Trevor. He reached to cup his face with just the slight hint of a smile. Trevor squirmed.

“You have so much left to be done.”

“No.”

“Don’t ‘no’ me.”

“Too bad.”

“That’s an _order._ ”

“I don’t take orders from anyone.”

The unnamed man pulled away to chuckle as he looked back at Cary.

“It has your rebellious streak. I wonder why!”

Trevor glared up at the man.

“I don’t want to go back.”

 

The unnamed man turned back to look at Trevor. His slight smile became a grin.

“Oh, have you learned nothing? I don’t need your permission to take you back. I have full control over you.”

He looked back up at the three guards holding down Siren, Trevor, and Cary. With only one move of his jaw, just like a command, they were being pushed into the back of one of the vans. Cary fought against the grip of one before getting out long enough to punch the unnamed man square in the nose. He was pulled back in and locked up with the other two. Trevor moved to his side. The guards were up at the driver and passenger seats now. Cary muttered out a small swear, having hit the floor of the truck a bit too hard.

“You’ll be okay, right?” Trevor was looking over Cary quickly. Cary groaned softly.

“I’ll be okay. I might only play a doctor on T.V, but I know enough about medicine to know I’ll be okay.” He opened one eye to look up at Trevor.

“I-Is it true?”

“What?”

“We’re married?”

The guard in the passenger seat banged his hand against the glass separating the two compartments and growled. Trevor flinched and looked over with wide eyes. Cary held onto his shoulders. He glared back.

“Shut up back there!”

Siren put her face right against the glass.

“What’s your problem?”

“Siren-”

“Oh, are we interrupting your villain music? What is it? Justin Bieber?”

“Siren, stop!”

She turned back to glare at Cary.

“I’m honestly asking. What’s the point of trying to keep us quiet?”

Cary started to get up but was stopped by Trevor. He helped him sit back down and refused to look back at the other. Cary glanced back up at Siren. She raised an eyebrow back at him.

“What’s stopping us? They kill us? They would have done that already if they wanted to.”

“We’re prisoners right now and you’re really thinking they won’t kill us?”

“You’re smart and you’re married to a government-run android. The only person who is going to die here is _me._ ”

“They won’t kill you and you know it.” Trevor whispered. He finally looked back at her. “I’ve noticed something about you.”

Siren furrowed her eyebrows.

“What?”

“You’re very willing to do anything Cary asked for you to do. You left your life just to help him.”

“So? I-”

“We were hidden when they found us.” Trevor explained softly. “The van was well off road and out of sight.”

“They followed us.” Cary added. “I fucked up.”

“How did they get to us so quickly from Arizona? We’re in North Dakota.” Trevor kept his eyes on Siren. She clenched her jaw. Cary’s eyes went wide.

“No.”

“I-”

“ _No._ ” Cary snarled. He pulled Trevor away from her and towards the door of the van. “How _dare_ you.”

“I have my reasons-”

“You turned us in!”

“She’s a government employee. They sent her out for us.” Trevor whispered. “Her only life before this was working for the government. She’s been tracking us for them this whole time.”

“I knew something was up with you.” Cary clenched his jaw. “I should have left!”

“Where else were you going to go?” Siren asked simply. “There was no way out of the country and within hours I found you.”

“What’s your real name?”

“What?”

“What’s your _name?_ ”

“You have no right to be asking me the questions when you’re the one who is in trouble. Cary Branson, not only are you convicted of treason but you’ve also been found in a robbery.”

“You helped!”

“I was the one who got charged to restock that store.”

“I can’t believe you!”

“You stole government property.”

“You stole my husband.”

“Cary-” Trevor got cut off.

“I should have never taken up your offer. One day my husband goes missing and the next I’m coming in to work only to find him stuck in a robots body!”

“Cary, calm down.”

“He didn’t even remember who I was.” Cary grumbled as he got up. Trevor tried to stop him but Cary shook him off.

Cary stood eye to eye with Siren. She looked back, all emotion stripped from her face.

“There’s no running now, Mister Branson. Your road has run dry.”

“That doesn’t mean that the car is out of gas.” Cary muttered, backing up just enough to punch the other square in the nose. She stumbled and glared at him.

“You’re only making it worse for yourself!” She responded, wiping the blood off her nose.

Trevor moved to stop Cary but only got onto his feet before the other punched Siren again. She grabbed on to the barrier and glared back at Cary. She came back with a punch to make space between them. She grabbed Trevor and held him close.

“Sit down.”

“Let him go.”

“ _Sit down._ ”

“L-”

“Sit down right now or I’m turning him off.”

Cary stopped and slowly raised his hands as he sat down. About halfway down, she turned off Trevor. Immediately, Cary was back up and pulling her away from Trevor. He limply fell to the floor. Cary slammed Siren against the back door, over and over. After the fifth time, the door flew open and he had to hold on to the side so he didn’t fall out with her. She rolled, bouncing hard against the ground and into the car behind the one Cary was in. Part of her cheek fell off, revealing machinery. Cary cringed.

He closed the door and turned to look at Trevor. Then, he looked to the two in the front. The passenger was growling at him and the car was slowing down. Cary grumbled to himself. He looked over at Trevor and sighed. The car went to a stop and the passenger got out. The driver stayed inside and had a gun ready.

The passenger threw the doors open. He pointed the gun at him. Cary slowly put his hands up. He lowered his head. Someone marched in and reached for Trevor only to be stopped by Cary.

“Don’t touch him.”

“Oh, Cary,” it was the unnamed man from outside of the van, “You can’t do anything more. You’ve cornered yourself. Unlike what you said, your road has crashed into a ravine.”

Cary glared up at the other.

“You’re clearly capable of building other robots.”

“S.I.R.E.N. will have to be repaired for the better of the country.”

“You’re sick.”

“You can’t stop us. We’ve been here for years and we’ll be here until your planet is destroyed.”

“Why not kill me now? I know. Trevor knows. I could tell everyone.”

“Who would believe you? You’re just a crazy man on a street corner.”

Cary kept glaring as he was pulling Trevor closer to him. The unnamed man chuckled and grabbed the handles to the doors.

“It’ll be a long ride.” He said simply before shutting the doors.

Cary cringed and looked back down at Trevor. He was crying, his tears dripping down onto Trevor’s face. He wiped them away before turning him over to find the switch to turn him back on. He flicked it up and waited. Seconds went by and he panicked. He flipped it down and back up and waited. His waiting didn’t last long before he did it again. Then, again, and again, and again, and again. Nothing.

He pushed his face against Trevor’s shoulder and sobbed.


	7. Chapter 7

_”Cary? Hon?”_

_Trevor looked away from the stove and smiled at Cary, who was sat at the table drinking his morning coffee. He was staring down at the stacks of papers scattered all over the dining room table. It has seen better days far long ago. Trevor sighed and finished the eggs before he went over to Cary._

_“Hon?” He repeated, setting down Cary’s plate in front of him. Cary finally moved to look up at the other._

_“Yeah?”_

_“You were spacing out again.” Trevor kissed the top of Cary’s head before sitting down._

_“Sorry.” Cary dug into his breakfast, pushing away the papers just far enough to make Trevor smile. “Work has been crazy.”_

_“So you’ve said.” Trevor chuckled. “It feels so weird having free time, but I think I can live.”_

_“What do you mean?”_

_Cary looked up at Trevor. Trevor’s smile dropped slightly._

_“Because I finished my Masters.” Trevor explained. “Remember? I graduated last weekend. You were there.”_

_“Right.” Cary nodded and went back to his food. “I’ve been swamped more than normal lately.”_

_“I noticed.”_

_The silence came over them like a thick cloud. Trevor sipped on his own tea and watched Cary closely. After a few more bites, Cary uncapped his pen and went back to work, making the other sigh. Trevor got up and wrapped his arms around Cary’s shoulders._

_“We should go out somewhere. It’s your day off.”_

_“I need to get this all done.”_

_“It’ll be better if you come back with a fresh mind.” Trevor explained softly. “You'll be able to get more done faster.”_

_“I need to get this all done.” Cary repeated and wiped his face. “It's my fault for procrastinating.”_

_“You didn't procrastinate. They just dumped all of this on you.” Trevor started to rub Cary’s shoulders. “You deserve a break.”_

_“That doesn't mean I need one.”_

_“Yes, you do. Last night, you didn't sleep a blink. I know because I sat in bed all night waiting for you to come to bed.”_

_“Trevor-”_

_“Listen to me.” Trevor insisted. “You need to slow down just for a few seconds. You don't need to read the papers every single paper.”_

_“Yes, I do-”_

_“The one you're reading right now says it isn't due for your signature until four months from now. You have time!”_

_“I have all the work for the future here because I want to get it done early.” Cary turned to look at Trevor. “The more I do now, the more time I can spend with you in the long run.”_

_Trevor watched him for a few moments before kissing his nose. Cary smiled and closed his eyes as Trevor did._

_“I love you.” Cary whispered. “A lot. You're perfect and I’ll do anything I can to make sure you know.”_

_Trevor grinned._

_“If I didn't love you,” Trevor started, “I wouldn't have this ring on my finger.”_

Trevor woke up in a cell. It didn't look anything like you'd expect, but, to him, it was a jail cell. The walls had been cleared of all his papers and the television was playing an old documentary about the Cold War. He cringed as he moved, aware of the gears and wires. He could feel them move. He never liked the feeling.

He eventually got the courage to get off the couch. The television kept playing, undisturbed and in its own little world. Trevor wished that, one day, he could be like that; in his own little world without any worries or promises left to uphold. But, life was the exact opposite and unforgiving. You do your best and you still end up face down in the mud.

Something in the air made him more anxious that usual. Everything was so picture perfect that it was unsettling. 

A glass bottle was placed on the table. S.I.R.E.N. looked up at Trevor and sighed. Her face had still yet to be repaired from the fall. The worst possible thing about the whole picture is that you could not tell she was an android unless damaged.

“I looked up to you when they talked about you.” She said simply. Her voice was much more robotic. “They told me that you were so much better than any of the others. You were so good that they were afraid to experiment.”

“Why are you here?”

His voice was wrong. There were too many gears and the accent wasn't quite right. The words felt foreignly shaped when he said them. It didn't sound like him but something manufactured and robotic. It hit too close to home.

“I thought I would stop by, share a drink-”

“I can’t drink anything.”

“Have you ever tried?”

“I don’t have a stomach and all that like you. It’s all gears.”

She frowned.

“I thought you should have known that seeing as you pretended to help look over Cary and I.”

“Maybe if you were nicer, things would have turned out better for you like they did for me. After all, I didn’t need my husband to build me vocal cords.”

Trevor glared at her before starting for the exit. S.I.R.E.N. held up her set of keys.

“You can’t leave.”

When Trevor moved for the keys, she pulled them away.

“But if you listen to me, you can.” She looked up and into Trevor’s eyes. She motioned to the seat across from her. “The cameras are off and everything.”

“Microphone?”

“Gone.”

“Why should I-”

“Your husband is getting turned into an android as we speak, so if you don’t shut up and listen to me, you might as well say goodbye to him.”

Trevor stopped, frozen where he was for just a second before he sat down across the table from her.


	8. Chapter 8

_Step. Tick. Tock. Step._

Cary stopped where he was. The clock kept ticking down, every second a new tock to get stuck in his head. He couldn’t see a single thing around him despite his eyes being wide open. Or were they? He couldn’t tell at this point.

_Plop. Tick. Tock. Plop._

He looked up, cringing when another water drop brushed his face. Slowly, his sight came to him to reveal the rainy sky. He glanced away and around the buildings. He had never seen anything like it before but the Space Needle gave it away. Seattle.

The streets were barren without a person in sight. When he tried to move, he couldn’t find the energy to. He looked down only to find his legs bare of any skin, straight bone from the knee down. His toes were mostly gone.

He screamed, falling over into a puddle. The puddle refused to stop, falling into an ocean of endless blue and foam. The remaining of the toes slipped off, sinking into the abyss below him. It was here that he realized he was no longer falling. He refused to close his eyes, letting them sting from the salt. Eventually, they had to be closed.

When he opened them again, he was back in the desert. He was covered in water and surrounded by cacti and sand until the horizon. Neat rows, hundreds of cacti long, resembled something of a farm. They clearly were not native to the area. He needed to get out of the sun as soon as he could.

He could walk. His legs were back just like they were never gone in the first place. Cuts and bruises covered the surface with the occasional stitch. It was new, but something that could have been damage from the cacti.

_Tick. Tock._

Cary looked around, searching for the source of the noise. Nothing could be seen for miles. He frowned, looking to the sky for any sign of anything only to find nothing. When he looked back ahead, dust was being kicked up by something. He stared, trying to make out what it was in the haze from the heat, but to no avail.

 

_Tick. Tock. Tick._

Tock. Finish the phrase. It left him on the edge. The sandstorm grew larger and so did the sound. God, that sound. It annoyed him to no end. Shivers ran down his spine. Bumps grew over his arms and legs as he started to back away. He needed to run. His legs needed to run. No matter what he told them, they barely moved.

The sandstorm was much faster than Cary was. Whatever was behind it all roared through the ground. Cary kept running but every step was harder than the last. He collapsed. Sand barely cushioned the fall. The noise got louder and louder ever more. He rolled over, looking up at the sky. The cacti twisted like a fever dream, contorting down towards him. They held him close to the ground as the sand came. He closed his eyes.

Nothing. It all stopped.

He opened his eyes. Looking around, he was back to the salt flats of which Trevor, Siren (No, S.I.R.E.N.) and him had taken camp. The remains of the fire still laid next to him. The wood was hot, just close enough to setting on fire just from the sun. It was closer to dusk than noon. The afternoon sun was always the worst.

Cary sat up but hesitated, having not heard a single sound just yet. His hands shook. When he tried to get up, his legs refused. It felt as if he was walking on two unbalanced sticks: impossible. He had to crawl if he wanted to get anywhere in this hellish nightmare. And he did. He laid back down and started to crawl.

He never seemed to go anywhere. When he got far enough, the same camp would be seen on the horizon. When he looked back it was the same as the last still behind him. A repeated image, the same cracks in the ground, same wood logs, same marks left by the van, same plateaus in the background.

He stopped, gasping for breath. His coat was no longer white like it had been days ago when he left left. Now, it was a dark brown, drenched in long made sweat stains, and ripped at some seams. But, it was back despite have been long forgotten in the van. He had different clothes that seemed nonexistent, and so did Trevor.

Trevor. Cary failed him. He did all he could to get them out and away from the horrors of the past but he was naive. He trusted too much in someone he didn’t know. He failed Trevor and now they were back. They were going to die and all Trevor wanted was to be free to live his own life. He couldn’t do that if he was dead.

Cary slowly sat up. He stared at the camp ahead and the one before before grunting. He punched the ground, screaming out not because of the pain but because of the true realization he had made. He was never going to be able to see Trevor again if he didn’t wake up. Whatever prison this was, he had to wake up and find Trevor.

He punched the ground again, bursting out into sobs before laying back down. He punched the ground once more, much weaker than the last two times. He was more tears than man anymore, letting the sand consume him. One second the sky was bright and the next the moon ruled the sky, over and over again until the wind had blown the sand over him. He had given up after trying for two seconds.

The sand morphed into a blanket and he immediately opened his eyes. He was in a bed. He sat up, cringing at the pain in his legs. Something was different and lighter. When he went to uncover the blankets, the door opened. It was Trevor.

“Good morning.”

Cary paused and slowly put the blanket back down. Trevor carried a tray of food and wore the same apron with pride like he always did. He came and placed the tray on Cary’s nightstand before starting to serve him.

“Are you not going to speak? Is something wrong?” Trevor looked back at him and stopped. He frowned causing Cary to quickly shake his head. Trevor went back to serving him.

“I’m fine. Just a bit dazed.”

“Bad dream?”

Cary nodded. He looked around at the bedroom with curious eyes. It was just as they had always dreamed of: the big bedroom you see in magazines and wish for. The windows surrounded the window seat and the curtains were drawn back to let light in. Outside was a view down at Los Angeles. It was truly their dream room.

“Hon?”

Cary looked back at Trevor. Food had been handed over on the tray. Trevor had made pancakes with strawberries mixed in and a side of eggs. He smiled. It was his favorite.

“Thank you.” Cary whispered, picking up the fork from the side.

Trevor slowly sat on the edge of the bed next to him.

“Don’t forget the coffee. It’s fresh. Irish cream like you like it.”

Cary chuckled quietly as he spread the butter and syrup around his pancakes. He was smiling even if he didn’t notice. Taking one bite in made him melt.

“Are they good?”

“Absolutely.”

Cary took another bite and looked up at Trevor. Trevor was watching him but there was something lifeless behind his eyes. Cary frowned and moved aside his breakfast, but paused halfway through. Trevor immediately frowned.

“Is something wrong?”

“Are you okay?” Cary finished his action and tried to lean forward to see Trevor more clearly. Trevor grabbed his shoulders to stop him.

“Stop moving. You’ll hurt yourself.”

“Trevor?” Cary frowned and looked down at himself. “Why would would I hurt myself?”

Trevor didn’t respond but insisted on pushing Cary back down so he was lying down. He was still frowning the most that he could. It seemed unnatural to Cary, making his insides twist inside. He slowly reached up and cupped Trevor’s face.

“Let me move the blanket. I want to get up to stretch.”

Trevor stared at him with a blank expression. The lifelessness was apparent in his eyes.

“No.”

“I can’t feel below my knees.”

“You need to stay in bed.”

“Trevor.”

“No!” Trevor yelled. Their noses were touching as Trevor stared into Cary’s eyes like they were only curtains to something else. He held onto Cary’s shoulders like his life depended on it.

Cary rubbed his finger over Trevor’s cheek. He stared back, realizing quickly that this wasn’t real life. He wasn’t home. He wasn’t safe. He was still in the nightmare that kept persisting on him. This wasn’t Trevor.

“What’s your name?” Cary slowly asked, anticipating the confusion that would come over Trevor. It did, causing him to sit back slightly.

“It’s Trevor. You know that! It’s always been Trevor.”

Cary slowly sat up, still cupping Trevor’s cheek. He stared Trevor right in the eyes before opening his mouth again to speak.

“What is _your_ name?”

“My name is Trevor.”

“ _Yours._ Not my husbands.”

Trevor glared at him and moved to pin him down before Cary pushed him away. He fell off the bed. Cary moved to take the blankets off. When he did, they both stopped. His legs weren’t there, only stubs ending after the knees. He frowned, looked up at Trevor.

“What happened?”

Trevor got up. He covered Cary’s legs back with the blanket. He sat on the edge of the bed with a frown.

“Stay in bed. You’ll feel better soon.”

Something fell downstairs. Trevor stood up and stared at the door. He looked back after a second.

“You need to stay here. You’ll get better. I’ll check downstairs.”

“Cary!” It was Trevor’s voice. The offsetting voice that was so close except for the hint of machinery. He sat up.

The Trevor that was with him pushed him down. He opened the drawer as he held Cary down. Out of it came a pair of handcuffs.

“What are you-”

“It’s for your own good! You have to let it finish!”

Cary fought against him before getting pushed back harder. It was obvious that he was an android; His strength was unmatchable and his voice was slowly shifting into something else as well as his whole appearance. The mask of Trevor faded to show the remains of an android.

“You need to stay here!”

Cary glared.

“If you do not, it won’t complete!”

The door burst open to reveal the real Trevor. S.I.R.E.N. was right behind him, holding a gun. She shot around, the bullets going through the walls and breaking up the dream state he was in. Trevor threw the android down and started to get Cary out. Slowly, the whole room started to fade into something else.

He wasn’t in a dream nor Kansas anymore. It was real life, something he had longed for. But, what he was given was not what he asked for. He glanced around quickly. It was gray, dull and unsaturated. It was the very surgical room he used to work in. He was the one on the table. His legs were gone and replaced with something far beyond his imagining. They looked like something out of a horror or sci-fi movie. They looked just like all other android legs without skin plates.

S.I.R.E.N. joined Trevor in helping Cary off the table once everyone in the room was either gone or down on the ground bleeded. She smiled, half of her skin missing off of her face. Cary looked over at Trevor and stopped them.

“Cary, we don’t have time. We need to go.” Trevor explained. Cary cupped his face and stared at him right in the eyes.

“Just one second.”

“What?”

And Cary kissed him.


	9. Chapter 9

_Hold on just a little while longer._

Trevor dragged Cary out and into the bright sun as soon as S.I.R.E.N. was convinced it was clear. She kept her gun up, wary of anything that moved outside of the two men with her. Trevor paused, setting Cary down to adjust his grip. The sand bounced gently against the ground in the wind.

_Hold on just a little while longer._

Cary knew this setting all too well. Just less than a week ago, he was the one carrying Trevor out onto the road to nowhere. The sun’s heat left streaks in the distance. Cary reached to undo his tie but Trevor picked him back up, stopping him. S.I.R.E.N. held the gate open as they went through. They had to get somewhere fast.

_Hold on just a little while longer._

Trevor kept going down the road, not stopping for even the smallest amount of time. He knew that they had to get out of there as soon as they could. Cary wondered if he even was desperate enough to hitchhike just like Cary once did. But, he should have learned from Cary’s mistakes. Hitchhiking wasn’t the best option.

_Everything will be alright._

Cary glanced over at S.I.R.E.N, his eyes drooping from the pain in his knees. They were bleeding and the components were obviously never completed. Every movement sent a bolt through his body. Whether it was electricity or anxiety, Cary was sure he would never know.

S.I.R.E.N. stopped them. She motioned down to Cary’s legs.

“We need to get them off.”

Trevor shook his head. “We can wait on that.”

“It’ll kill him.”

“And if we remove them, he’ll bleed out or get an infection. The blood will lead them right to us! We need a doctor first!”

“No one is going to want to see us! We’re criminals!”

“Not if they don’t know.”

“You’re on the FBI’s Most Wanted! We all are at this point!”

Cary whined, shutting them both up. “You two are really loud and my ears are ringing.”

Trevor held him close and ran his fingers through his hair. Cary slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring that looked identical to his own. S.I.R.E.N. opened her mouth to say something but stopped when she noticed what he was doing. Instead, she turned to make sure no one else was around.

Trevor held Cary’s shaking hand. He stared down at the right before Cary pulled his hand away and took Trevor’s other hand, slowly, he slipped the ring on. He smiled for the first time since he had been saved. Trevor looked him in the eyes.

“We need to get going. If there’s anymore other than that you want to do, we should do it somewhere safer.”

Cary slowly nodded. S.I.R.E.N. nodded towards the road that went off to the horizon ahead of them. Trevor bit his lip and adjusted his hold on Cary. He started to move, slow at first so he could confirm that his grip was solid. After a few seconds, he picked it up.

“You’re going to be fine, Cary.” He whispered. He wasn’t sure any of them believed that they’d be okay.

“I believe you.”

Trevor nodded and kept going. If he could feel pain, then he was sure he would have felt his knees wanting to buckle with every movement. He still had the emotions in him, though. His anxiety rested with butterflies in his stomach: they wouldn’t stop for a second.

None of them stopped until they reached a bench in the middle of nowhere. It was a bus stop, long forgotten by the people who never came to it. No one got off, no one got one, only bits of dust and the smell and heat of the sun that overpowered the air conditioning. Trevor sat Cary on it carefully, knowing that the wood could have easily cracked and broke if two people sat. Instead, Trevor sat on the ground. Cary laid down and reached for his hand. Trevor let him have it.

“We need to get going.”

“No.” Trevor whispered. “We need to rest even if it’s for a minute. If this wasn’t important, I wouldn’t have stopped.”

“Fine.”

“Trevor…?” Cary whispered out. Trevor looked up at him and smiled.

“Yes?”

“Do you think they’ll let us go? After all of this?”

Trevor gulped and cupped Cary’s face with his free hand. He opened his mouth to speak but found no words. It took him a few seconds before he could finally find them.

“Not a chance. We know a lot. They don’t want us to get it out.”

“Wouldn’t they have shown up by now if they really did?”

S.I.R.E.N. looked back. “I sent my tracker off with another android. Trevor doesn’t have one and you don’t either. We need to get as far away as possible before they find it.”

Cary nodded and sat up. Trevor pushed him back down.

“Rest.”

“We need to go, Trevor.”

“Cary-”

“I want to have a life with you, Trevor! I don’t want to have to be stuck in a lab without any remembrance of who you are because you wanted me to rest. I haven’t walked a single foot since you saved me. I don’t need to rest.”

Trevor opened his mouth but Siren cut him off.

“He’s right.” She said and motioned onwards. “We can keep going.”

“Siren-”

“Trevor, just start walking, damn it!” Cary glared at him. “If you keep stopping for me, there won’t be a future for us to look forward to together!”

Trevor hesitated before grabbing Cary’s shoulder. He started to walk again shortly after. Cary sighed, knowing full well that he had upset Trevor. At this point, it didn’t matter to him. He loved Trevor with all his heart and he knew full well how much of an idiot he could be sometimes. He was glad to have him back instead of the Red Scare crazed robot he used to be. Fucking hell, he hated the government more than before.

In the end, it still wasn’t quite the same person he loved before. The differences were minor in the eyes of the public, but major for Cary, being Trevor’s husband. If he worked on it, he was sure he could adapt to them. He was still Trevor in the end.

They walking never stopped. Trevor and Cary were both convinced they were in a dream where they got away without a thought. It all seemed too good to be true. The distraction should not have lasted this long even with how well it was planned out. It seemed off in a way that none of them could place until they walked right into town. The electronic store had a television out front playing coverage from the local news station. They stopped and watched the horrors that laid in front of them. Thousands of civilians were marching into governmental offices around the country, maybe even millions. There were more of them than security and police, that’s for sure.

“It’s a good distraction.” S.I.R.E.N. explained quietly. “We can get pretty east before this all blows over. I know someone in Montana that can get you two across the border and, most likely, to a doctor.”

Cary looked back at her after a few seconds. Trevor’s eyes were still glued to the screen.

“What about you?”

“If I stay here, I can cover up for you two. No one will ever know. They’ll all think you were killed.” She gulped. “And, if my doctor friend is still alive, he could probably fix the android thing for Trevor.”

Trevor looked back at the mention of his name. He furrowed his eyebrows.

“It would be one of those one out of a billion chances, but it’s worth asking.” She smiled.

Cary opened his mouth, but instead looked down at his ring. He twisted it around on his finger, cringing at the slight stinging. It reminded him that he was still human after all. Trevor spoke up.

“Even if he can, there’s always the possibility that it won’t work.”

“It’s worth-”

“No.” Trevor spoke strictly. “I don’t want to be put in that position after all this. Cary’s legs are way more valuable to fix.” He glanced down at Cary and smiled. “Even if you don’t end up having anything from the knee down, it’s better than having machinery.”

Cary nodded as he looked up. He rubbed his eyes and glanced around. He bit his lip.

“We can steal a car or something.” He explained and motioned around. “Any of them.”

S.I.R.E.N. nodded and started for one of the trucks parked nearby. Trevor hesitated, still watching Cary closely. He leaned in so they met eye contact. Cary smiled slowly and reached up to wipe some dirt off of Trevor’s face. Most of the plates of skin had been replaced to look like his skin before the whole android thing. The only trace of the lizard skin left were minor places hidden under clothing.

“Cary?” Trevor asked quietly, glancing down at his arms. He looked over them. “Why this color?”

“What?”

“They showed me reports dealing with people with skin like this. They made it seem like they were bad and-”

Cary cut him off.

“There is nothing wrong with you or any of those people. The people in the lab were the problem. They were idiotic assholes.” He grabbed Trevor’s arm. “If I had done something else, it wouldn’t have been you, the man I fell in love with. It would have been someone white-washed and disgusting.”

Trevor looked up into Cary’s eyes. He reached up to wipe the tears off of Cary’s face. Cary shook his head and pulled Trevor into a kiss. After a few seconds, he pulled away for a deep breath.

“You’re beautiful, Trevor. Don’t let anyone else say you’re not.”

“And if they do?”

“I’ll be there to prove them wrong.”

S.I.R.E.N. honked the horn of the truck she had gotten into before rolling down the window. The car was running. They both looked towards it. Trevor smiled.

“Get in love birds, we have a roadtrip to go on!”

Cary chuckled and readjusted himself. He let Trevor take over after a few seconds to figure it out. Eventually, Trevor just picked Cary up.

“This is much easier than walking with you.” Trevor chuckled as he started for the truck. “You’re not even that heavy!”

“I’m a twink, I get it.”

Trevor snorted at Cary’s response. He got Cary in the back seat and safe before getting in himself. S.I.R.E.N. laughed before stepping on the gas and getting them out of there. Cary leaned against Trevor and stared out the same window as him. The scenery went by quickly, blurring any real sights. It seemed too fast but S.I.R.E.N. was still respectful enough to keep the speed limit.

“Trevor?” Cary whispered, hoping he would hear under the blasting music. He smiled when Trevor looked back at him. “What kind of house do you want?”

“Kind? Like type?” Cary nodded. “I don’t know.”

“I want something spacious. Two floors, maybe? No, no, not with my legs.” Cary kept staring into his eyes as he spoke. “Room for a dog, maybe a kid? Just maybe?”

“Just maybe.”

“Nice kitchen where you have space to experiment with cooking and spices and baking.” He was starting to doze off. Trevor watched him closely. “Nice yard. Maybe a garden?”

“Maybe so.”

“Not too big where it’s a hassle to mow. A nice big living room where we can dance the night away.”

Trevor nodded. “Absolutely.”

 

Cary continued on. “A bathroom with a shower _and_ a bath. A nice bed with a mattress that’s not too firm but won’t consume you with how not-so-firm it is.”

Trevor chuckled and nodded more. “Whatever you want.”

“And-” Cary yawned. “And-”

“And what?”

“You.” He whispered. “I don’t have to wake up and not find you there.”

“I wouldn’t want to miss the first smile of yours every morning.” Cary smiled as he yawned. Trevor pointed at it and giggled. “There it is!”

They shared a laugh. Cary adjusted his seatbelt and laid down into Trevor’s lap. He closed his eyes and let Trevor run his fingers through his hair, now with a few gray hairs. He eventually paused to lean down and press a kiss to his scalp.

“I love you so much.” He whispered. “And you’ve done so much in so little time. For me or for yourself, you need to take a break, even if it’s for just a short while. You’re safe now, Cary Branson. It’s your time to exhale.” Cary took in a deep breath and held it there. Trevor kissed the same spot again. “Exhale.”

And Cary exhaled, letting his breath mix in with the wind. It danced across the sand and past cacti, moving through trees and right past the leaves. It barely avoided the spider webs and traveled through sewer systems. It was free, going along with the waves of the ocean and up into the sky without ever breathing in until it was deliver to another person to teach them the same message.

Once they reached the border and Cary’s legs had been reduced to sewn stubs, they had to say goodbye to S.I.R.E.N. Despite all of this, it still wasn’t her time to exhale. She helped them on their journey, but hers still had to be finished. Both Cary and Trevor knew that as she drove back into the United States. They knew that whatever road she was on, that it lead somewhere, and that somewhere would most likely not be the end either. She had a lot to do.

Her doctor friend that got them over the border set them up for visas and all the sorts. Cary was given a wheelchair that Trevor helped him around in with pride. After long hours of thinking that he would go in for some surgery to fix everything. That wasn’t the case and having to deal with it the rest of his life as is was. It took months before he started to accept that fact.

They got their dream home and an older dog that seemed to hate them despite loving them. They named her after a dear old friend, and after years had passed, finally realized where all of the time had gone. The exhale on the wind flew by to say hello but refused to come back in, knowing full well how it would panic them once again.

So, it didn’t, and never did. It had its own road that lead somewhere, despite it seemingly being nowhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading. This has been a roller coaster ride to write and see people's reactions.
> 
> -Josh (mesoquatic)


End file.
